Presents
by Shimmerleaf
Summary: Sabrina recieves a birthday present from Vaughn and is determined to give him something for Winter Harmony.


**A/N: Sabrina has got to be my favourite character in Si and IoH. I haven't seen many stories with her as the main character so I wrote this :D Every character deserves to get their time in the spotlight. ****Warning: ****This story **_**implies **_**VaughnxSabrina, if you don't like that pairing, I advise you **_**not**_** to read. **

She was slowly getting more confident each day. Everyone knew her as the introverted, quiet bookworm and that described her perfectly. She hardly spoke out against people unless they rubbed her the wrong way or if she believed something different, which then she would defend her opinion.

Even as a child she would be painfully shy, never the one to speak up. She slowly came out of her shell when she made friends on the Island. Her friends often talked a lot and she would mostly listen although she would talk more then she used to with their coaxing. She had a scrap book full of pictures of her friends and herself together, laughing and having fun.

The young woman smiled to herself as she mentally relived those moments captured on film. It was the first time in weeks that she had smiled. All her friends and her father had been worried about her. They knew she wasn't the kind of person to openly express feelings but even so, they'd never seen her go on for so long without a smile.

It would be simple to say it was _his _fault. It was him that shattered her heart by not returning her feelings yet if that was all he did it would be forgivable. She had told him about her feelings and he hadn't respond at that instance, saying that he needed time to think so she gave it to him. It was a shock to her system to see him and another woman kissing passionately in a booth in the Diner. What made it worse was that many people were watching and they didn't seem to care. She tried asking him if he returned her feelings on another day but he had just shrugged it off and told her to stop pestering him.

She didn't want to seem weak in front of him so she had left him alone and ran home to cry. Days after she would have a solemn look on her face, her eyes emotionless or dull. Thanks to her friends, she was finally able to smile and to be happy again.

A knock on the door echoed throughout the large mansion that is her home. Slowly the young woman walked down the stairs to the door and opened it to reveal her best friend and the rancher of the Island, Chelsea.

"Hey Sabrina, I didn't think you'd be home at this hour," Chelsea stated while mildly puzzled.

Sabrina gave Chelsea a small smile and ushered her in before closing the door to keep the cool air out. It was almost half way through the winter season and the wind still felt cold_. _"Father wanted me to help him update the shipping records today. With the weather being such temperatures make it easier on the miners so they have evacuated more ores than usual," she explained as she led Chelsea upstairs to her room.

Chelsea followed Sabrina up the stairs holding tightly onto a circular box. When they reached her room, she gently set the book down and turned to Sabrina but not before she noticed the scrap box splayed out on the bed. Raising an eyebrow, Chelsea turned to look at Sabrina questioningly.

Sabrina ducked her head and blushed; she didn't like it when people looked at her. "Y-yeah I was looking at that earlier," she smiled, "it's nice to think back to the past and relive the memories.

Chelsea nodded in agreement. "I guess that's true although I rather make new memories."

Sabrina smiled and held the scrapbook delicately in her arms, hugging it close to her heart. "What are you doing here Chelsea? You hardly come to my house," Sabrina questioned.

Chelsea smiled, picked up the circular box and gestured to Sabrina to take it. Slightly confused, Sabrina took the box nonetheless. She gave it a small shake to try to detect the contents of the box which earned a laugh from Chelsea.

"Go ahead and open it, Sabrina. It's for your birthday," Chelsea stated merrily.

Sabrina blushed slightly and slowly un-wrapped the box. Taking off the lid, she peered inside to see cookies of all shapes and sizes sitting in a container next to a pink diamond. She gasped as the diamond sparkled and glimmered. She took it out of the box and examined it from every angle before putting back down and looking at Chelsea with a wide smile. "Thank you, Chelsea. I love this; it must've taken you a long time to find it."

Chelsea shook her head. "It wasn't that hard, besides, it's for your birthday. I was planning to go deep into the mines anyway."

Sabrina smiled and took out a cookie. "What are these cookies for then?"

"You can count them as part of your birthday present too."

Sabrina's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Oh no, I can't accept that many things. You already gave me the valuable pink diamond; I can't accept the cookies too."

Chelsea pondered this for a moment. She didn't want to take the cookies back. It is her belief that after you give something to someone, you shouldn't take it back no matter what. "If you don't want to keep them, you can give them to someone else."

Sabrina looked at Chelsea questioningly, "I can do that?"

"Of course, do whatever you want with them. The cookies are yours now that I've given them to you."

"Thank you Chelsea, I'm so glad you're my friend," Sabrina stated cheerfully, putting the cookies back into the container that it came in.

Chelsea smiled and her eyes twinkled. "If you're going to give them away, you might as well wait two days..."

Sabrina blinked then gave Chelsea a quizzical look. "Why should I wait two days? Couldn't I give it to someone today?"

"Well, you can but it's the Winter Harmony Festival in two days. If you're giving it to a guy, I think it's better to give it to them then but that's my opinion," Chelsea replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I should leave now. I promised Pierre that I'd show him my Doria recipe. I'll see you later, Sabrina and happy birthday."

Sabrina waved good bye to Chelsea and waited until she heard the closing of the door before she took out the pink diamond from the box once more. Holding it by the tip, she turned it back and forth and watched as it caught the light. The jewel glimmered, sparkled and shone. Sabrina couldn't help but smile. Gently she placed it on her shelf next to the alexandrite she had received from Chelsea from her first birthday on the Island.

Among the pink diamond and the alexandrite were a bunch of other gifts she had received from her friends from various occasions. A stack of birthday cards sat on one end of the shelf. In the middle were boxes of books including ones with pressed flowers. At the other end were other gems Chelsea had given her. Sabrina took each present and gave it a thorough once over as she reminisced.

A knock on the door to her house once again interrupted Sabrina from her thoughts. She walked down the stairs slowly, thinking it was Chelsea once more.

She opened the door and gasped. Standing in front of her was none other than Vaughn. She stuttered a hello and welcomed him in. He tipped his Stetson in greeting and walked in. Sabrina stood in front of Vaughn, fiddling her fingers. She felt extremely awkward around him. The two of them could be considered friends but she had grown to liking him more than that which made every situation worse.

"V-Vaughn, what are you doing here?" Sabrina asked as a light shade of red dusted her cheeks.

He grunted in reply and took out a package.

"I-is that for me?"

Vaughn nodded in reply and handed it to her. "Happy Birthday," he said.

Sabrina smiled and took it gratefully. "Thank you, Vaughn. Can I open it?"

He nodded and watched as she took off the lid and glanced inside. Her eyes widened in happiness and clasped her hands together. He wasn't sure what Sabrina enjoyed, besides painting and reading, so he had asked Chelsea for advice. He had gotten the item while in the city and stuffed it in a box.

"Thank you, Vaughn. This is really beautiful, can you h-help me put it on?" Sabrina asked shyly.

He nodded and helped her put on the necklace. Once the clasp was on and he backed away from her, she turned to the wall length mirror and looked at her reflection. The necklace was made out of silver with alternating diamonds and peridots dangling from it. The clasp was in a shape of a heart outlined with bits of moonstone.

Sabrina placed her hand delicately along the necklace, tracing it with her forefinger before touching each gem. She turned to Vaughn and gave him a whole-hearted smile. His face burned and his heart started beating faster. He pulled his trademark Stetson down so it covered his face and mumbled that it wasn't a problem. Sabrina gave him another smile and he felt his heart beating faster once more. His eyes locked with Sabrina's reflection in the mirror and he kept staring.

"V-Vaughn, is something wrong?" Sabrina asked, breaking him out of his trance.

His face relaxed into the same position he always wore, although his heart was still beating faster than normal, and shook his head. "I have to get back to Mirabelle."

Sabrina nodded and opened the door for him. He grunted and left, walked towards Verdure Island. She watched him walk away from her doorway, unshaken by the cold until she couldn't see him anymore then she shivered and walked back into her home, a smile playing on her lips as she ran her hand over the necklace once more.

xxx

The winter sun rose up into the sky and hid behind clouds. Its rays streamed through and landed on the ground below. Sabrina rose from her bed, placed her glasses on the bridge of her nose and glanced out the window. The necklace that Vaughn had given her and helped her put it on still rested on her collarbone. Even in the early morning, the gems glistened and reflected the light. Walking towards her mirror, she smiled as she saw her reflection and the necklace. Running a brush through her raven black hair once, she tied it up into a tight ponytail before walking down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, silence greeted her. It was then that she remembered that her father was watching the miners at work. She headed back upstairs and into the kitchen. Pulling open the fridge, she spotted the box of cookies she had received from Chelsea two days ago. _"If you're giving them to a guy, you might as well wait until the Winter Harmony Festival." _Chelsea's voice echoed in Sabrina's mind as she looked at the box. An image of Vaughn flashed into her mind causing her to blush and she gasped. Did she really like him in _that _way?

Flustered with her emotions, she took out the box of cookies and placed it on the kitchen table. She took out a cookie and looked at it. It was in a heart shape and was covered with icing. She glanced toward the calendar hanging from the fridge. "_Winter 14- Winter Harmony Festival, a day for girls to give boys chocolates and/or cookies to show their appreciation." _

Sabrina looked back towards the cookies and smiled which disappeared as she remembered that today was Wednesday and Vaughn was not on the Island. Thinking for a minute, she decided to give him cookies anyway and just leave them with Mirabelle. She would be too embarrassed on Monday to give it to him herself. Picking out the nicest looking cookies from Chelsea's load, she placed them aside and went in search of ingredients to bake her own cookies. Taking out two eggs, a cube of butter and 150grams of wheat flour, she set off to bake.

xxx

The smell of fresh baked cookies floated through the air and into the library downstairs. Sabrina finished the last calculation for the day and walked into the kitchen. Putting on oven mitts, she took out the cookies and let them cool before she iced them. Smiling happily at her creation, she placed them and Chelsea's cookies into a box before wrapping and tying it with ribbon. She paused and thought for a moment before grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper, she proceeded to write something then stuck it on the box.

xxx

"H-hello, Mirabelle," Sabrina greeted as she walked into the animal shop. Julia waved to her happily before turning back to her papers.

"Good afternoon, Sabrina. It's nice to see you. What can I do for you?" Mirabelle questioned as she gave Sabrina a smile.

"C-can you give this to Vaughn for me on Monday?" she asked shyly, holding out the box.

Mirabelle looked confused but nodded nonetheless. "Of course, dear, but you will see him on Monday, won't you?" Sabrina gave a slight nod. "You could give it to him yourself then. I'm sure he will be happy to get something from you, especially since it is a special day today."

Sabrina bit her lip and blushed; she didn't want that at all! "If it's not too much trouble, I rather you give it to him for me, Mirabelle," Sabrina murmured.

Mirabelle gave a knowing smile as Julia giggled and took the box from Sabrina. "I'll just keep this box here underneath the counter and give it to him when he comes in on Monday. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes, thank you very much, Mirabelle," Sabrina stated with a nod. She turned to leave but a call from Julia stopped her just as she was about to turn the doorknob.

"Hey Sabrina, did you just give Mom a box of cookies for my anti-social cousin?" Julia asked, her eyes showing disbelief.

Sabrina nodded shyly as she stood behind the door, her hand still on the doorknob.

Julia's eyebrows rose and a cheeky grin appeared on her face. "So you _do _like him that way! I always knew there was something going on between the two of you," Julia stated, her eyes shining as she spotted the necklace. "He gave that to you, didn't he?"

Once more Sabrina nodded her head, this time her cheeks flaring up. She ducked her head and looked out the window, avoiding eye contact from Julia.

Julia walked over to Sabrina so she stood in front of her. She placed her hands on Sabrina's shoulders, causing her to look at Julia. Sabrina blushed and looked toward the ground. "Relax, Sabrina. I'm not going to say anything embarrassing, that's Chelsea's job," Julia laughed, "I wish you luck. Not a lot of people can get close to him and you're defiantly one of his closest friends."

"T-thanks, Julia. I'm going to go now..." Sabrina mumbled before walking out. The cold air stung her cheeks as they were still red. She sighed and let out a breath of relief. She just hoped Vaughn wouldn't avoid her after he sees what she had written.

xxx

"Good morning, Vaughn," Mirabelle stated as she greeted him.

"Morning," he grumbled as he headed to the stalls in the backroom, leading a young calf.

Mirabelle waited until he came back out before taking out the box from underneath the counter. "Vaughn, before you go, someone wanted me to give this to you. It's for the Winter Harmony Festival. You should be happy to get a present."

Vaughn blushed and he pulled his hat down to cover his face. He took the box and headed out of the store while Julia called out to him. He ignored her and headed to Meadow Island.

xxx

The cold winter breeze blew across Vaughn's face causing his hair to brush past his eyes. He looked down at the box in his hand. Taking off the piece of paper, he looked at it. The corners of his mouth curved up into a smile and he couldn't help but let out a chuckle. He read it over once more, before opening the box. Inside sat at least a dozen cookies, each decorated unlike the others. Some were heart shaped; some were circular while others were squared. Each cookie was decorated in different colours along with different decorations.

Vaughn took out a cookie and bit into it. The soft and smooth texture of the cookie rolled around in his mouth. He could help but flinch slightly at the sugary taste of the icing but kept munching nonetheless.

He swallowed and reached for another, this one being circular with a happy face drawn in blue icing. It had a different texture then the other one he had eaten. It wasn't as soft with parts that were –for lack of a better word- crunchy. Vaughn finished off the cookie, placed the lid on the box and headed for Sprout Island.

xxx

The sun was starting to set and the sky was already a dark shade of blue. Vaughn wandered over to Sabrina's mansion. He hardly went into her house, Regis, Sabrina's father, seemed to have a feeling hate towards him. He had no clue as to what he did but he avoided Regis as much as he could. If for some odd reason, he had to go there, he would always make sure it was a time when he knew Regis would not be home.

He knocked on the door and just like on Tuesday, Sabrina opened the door, a shock expression on her face.

"H-hello Vaughn, it's nice to see you," Sabrina said.

Vaughn grunted in reply and looked at her. Even in the pale blue sky, the gems on her necklace still shone. "Can I come in?"

"O-oh, of course," Sabrina replied, opening her door wider. Vaughn walked in, brushing his shoulder against Sabrina's.

Heat rushed up to Sabrina's cheeks and she blushed bright red. She closed the door and turned to Vaughn but avoided looking him directly in the eyes.

"Sorry," Vaughn replied as he pulled his hat down to cover his own blushing face.

Sabrina looked down towards the floor and fiddled with her fingers when she spotted the box in Vaughn's hand. Her face turned even redder, if that was even possible. "A-about that box?"

Vaughn smiled but it looked more like a smirk. "I go the, uh, cookies from Mirabelle this morning," Vaughn stated, "they taste delicious, thank you."

Sabrina gave him a shy smile. "I'm glad you like them, Vaughn," Sabrina replied happily.

An awkward silence took over and the two stood uncomfortably. "W-would you like to sit down?" Sabrina would ask occasionally but Vaughn would decline.

Vaughn's fingers fiddled with the rim of his Stetson, he knew he should say something but he didn't know how to say it correctly.

Sabrina had her head down, her hands clasped together in front of her. When she thought Vaughn was looking elsewhere, she would sneak glances at him. Each glance caused her to blush.

"What did your note mean?" Vaughn asked out of the blue.

"W-what did you say?" Sabrina questioned back, startled.

"What did you mean in your note that came with the cookies?" Vaughn asked once more.

"O-oh, n-nothing really," Sabrina stuttered, her face as red as a tomato, "it just seemed like a b-better idea to write something along with the cookies."

He nodded and they lapsed into silence once more before Vaughn broke it again. "I have to leave," Vaughn stated, "thank you for the cookies."

"N-no problem, Vaughn" Sabrina replied before closing the door after he walked out. A piece of paper fluttered through the air before landing on the ground.

Curious as to what was written on it, she picked it up. On the top was the note she had written and placed with the cookies.

_The day to give thanks, I give mine to you._

_With these I gladly show you my appreciation. _

_Without you in my life, I will not be who I am today. _

_I am glad to have met you,_

_I wish we shall forever be. _

_~Sabrina, Happy Winter Harmony Vaughn. _

She looked at the bottom in confusion. She hadn't written that and the writing style did not match hers. Looking it over to find a name, she read it once quickly and her eyes widened. It was written by Vaughn!

_I am glad to receive these._

_Your appreciation is meaningful to me. _

_I too wish we shall forever be,_

_An angelic friend like you is hard to come by. _

_~Vaughn _

Sabrina read the little poem over and over again. Each time the smile on her lips grew bigger and bigger until she was grinning. Walking swiftly up the stairs, she placed the paper on her shelf next to the stack of birthday cards but not before reading it once more. To her, it was hard to believe that Vaughn had actually written a poem. He didn't seem like the type of guy that would write poetry and yet his poem was lovely.

She was glad she had decided to make cookies for him and she was glad she had written him a poem. She laid on her bed, closed her eyes and sighed in happiness. Her hand travelled down her neck until it reached the necklace. Holding it in her hand, she fiddled with it until she fell asleep to dream sweet dreams.

**A/N: I hope you enjoy reading that and Happy Valentine's Day. Reviews/Comments are always welcomed, no flames please!**


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